How to Prepare, Launch & Promote your eCommerce Mobile Application

It was not too long back when retail store owners thought if they really need an eCommerce website to sell their products. But, having an online store is no more an option, it is a necessity. And, now due to the increase in Smartphones, the new argument goes like:

“ I already have an online store. Do I really need an eCommerce app? “

And, yes, as time changes, you need to adapt to the technology else you will fall behind. Especially in eCommerce, falling behind literally means going out of business!

A forecast by eMarketer prediction in 2016 stated that mCommerce sales would exceed $123 Billion, and it was 39% since 2015, which means mobile eCommerce will make up about 1/3rd of the total eCommerce market.

So, what will an eCommerce mobile app can do for you and your store?

Smartphones have already gained its importance, and mobile apps are used by consumers everywhere to plan/shop/buy/ things more than using a website. Many eCommerce firms have pushed their store on mobile devices by launching eCommerce applications which work in synchronization on any platform as they are feasibly integrated on to the online store.

When the customers buy from your app, you will have a huge advantage of giving a great user experience, and the app visitors will get the privilege of shopping from you in just a tap and keeping it handy in their pockets.

What are the goals?

Having a clear goal is the essential thing you have to set without which you cannot measure the success of your progress. To make it clear, you should know the exact purpose of your eCommerce app. Will you be using it to boost your mobile sales, to engage with your products or to cross-sell across various channels?

The no. of visitors who will install your application during the launch

Your eCommerce conversion rates: the % of people who will be deciding to install your app

App Feedback: the no. of reviews and ratings you will receive in Google Play or iOS App Store

What KPIs you need to track?

Note down the list of key performance indicators (KPIs) you need to track during and after the launch of your eCommerce mobile applications. It will also help you find how good you are and what you need to improve to maximize the chances of achieving the goals.

Some KPI ideas are:

No. of email subscribers

% of users opened emails and read the content about your app launch

No. of downloads happened on the launch day

% of users downloading your eCommerce app

Sales generated as a result of your app launch

Don’t forget these about these KPIs as they directly depend on your goal, so it is quite important to define them.

How to Promote your eCommerce Mobile App?

After setting goals and KPIs, you will be confident that you need more than just having an eCommerce website. Yes, you need to grab the attention of the current Smartphone generation to get them use your mobile application.

So, after creating your eCommerce mobile app, how to spread the word? Here are some awesome ways to promote your eCommerce app:

Submit to App Store

While submitting your product, you need to optimize your listing with product images, keywords, and some organic ASO (app store optimization) tactics to get easily found in-app search in the play store. Design an attractive image/banner for your app, instead of just having a logo, so that your potential customers can spot it down easily. Need more tips on App Store Optimization? Check here.

Optimizing your App Name

There are over 2 million apps in the Apple App Store and 1 Million app in the Google Play Store. Make sure you give your app the name that will be easy to remember, the same name as in your web store. Use app titles as primary keywords, use a brand name that includes your keywords. Whatever you create, try to make it in 11 characters – because that is what users will see under the app icon when they search. Whereas the title will be shown in 50 characters on the app page.

Prepare the App Description with Keywords

The app description is different for both app marketplaces, say.,

For Google Play, you need to create a description which has keywords because of the Google’s algorithm that will use it as a ranking factor to show up in search results. The length of the short description will be of 80 characters, while the full description will be of 4300 characters.

For iTunes, you need to create a separate description which is non-ranking and have a keywords list with a maximum of 100 characters.

Great Landing Page

Make sure you inform your web audience about your e-commerce mobile app. It is a good idea to have a separate landing page on your website for the app download with a clear call to action button that sends to the play store.

QR Code in your Store

When you are targeting Smartphone users with a mobile app, QR codes are the best way to advertise. It’s quite easy to download applications by scanning QR code – no typing required! Use it on your web store in

Home Page

Pop-up

‘About us’ or ‘Contact us’ pages

‘Shopping cart’ page

‘Thank You’ page

Also print it:-

To place it in physical store

On business card, flyers

On products as branded packaging

It’s quite easy to generate QR code. You just need to copy the link to your app and use online QR generation like this.

Make the “Get on App Store/Google Play”

In addition to QR codes, these digital stickers are clickable and can be placed anywhere on the website: in the home page, blog page, landing page, newsletter, etc. with the link to your app page.

Create a YouTube Video Demo

Make a YouTube video to demonstrate your new application and show users about how to use your eCommerce mobile app to shop products online. Optimize the videos and channel with related keywords, titles, and descriptions that can help you in another way to get listed in search engines.

Keep posting videos about your new products and launches. BlendTec is a great inspiration that gives product demonstration videos and gets millions of views without being bored.

Motivate to Rate and Review your eCommerce App

Reviews and Rating are essential not only for ranking but also for gaining loyalty to brand. Once the orders are placed in the store, you will see it on your sales page. Why don’t you take the opportunity of this to send email to people and ask to rate your eCommerce mobile app?

Submit in App Review Sites

It is recommended to submit your eCommerce app in app review sites like

Invite Referrals

Another way for ecommerce mobile app promotion is to invite the users to tell their friends about your app and send an invitation to download it. You can also make a tie-up with them like incentive such as discounts or freebies in return for referring their friends to download and install the app. You may also have pre-populated messages that your app users can use and share via social media.

Advertise using Google AdWords

Google AdWords is one of the best ways for paid promotion. It helps to drive traffic to your app landing page. You have that you’ve provided the right keywords that give you the best ROI on your campaigns. Test, track and re-optimize your landing pages for best performance and results. Google also offer mobile ads to target consumes while they search on their mobile devices.

Facebook Advertisements

Make use of app installs option to create a Facebook ad and design it the way to get the maximum number of app installs. Target people by setting demographics and interests that help you get higher returns at low advertising cost.

Connect to Influencers

A small message from an influencer to their audience will have a huge viral effect on your app info and you will get huge downloads. In order to do so, you need to approach and influencer and build a relationship with them after which you can ask them to send out a message to their audience about your eCommerce app.

Fear on Online shopping are the things in the past. Nowadays, consumers are quite comfortable in purchasing online and much more comfortable in shopping right from the eCommerce apps on their mobile devices. So, it’s time to start thinking about launching an eCommerce mobile app to your online store. If you’re already thinking to get started, contact us today! We will help you bring your eCommerce store and mobile app dream to reality.